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It’s easy to say which team won the latest trade between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks. In the deal, the Raptors gave away Greivis Vasquez in exchange for two future picks. Is it better for Toronto to have a mediocre player now, or two future question marks? In this case, the right answer is clearly the future question marks.
Vasquez was comically bad on defense this season for the Raptors, and played a key part in the team’s defensive collapse over the course of the season. On offense, his slowness resulted in an evolution towards him basically being a 3-point chucker, and revealed that his assist numbers on previous teams were vastly skewed.
The Raptors got cap space in addition to the picks, leaving options open for GM Masai Ujiri. That’s how he likes to run his franchises. Will this be used on someone this year, like Tobias Harris? Or perhaps Ujiri is saving for the strong free agent class of 2016. Whatever direction he chooses to take, it should be intriguing.
The Raptors lost basically nothing in Vasquez, and I’d argue they actually gained by doing so, making this a savvy trade that should help the team going forward. Raptors fans should stay tuned for more transactions, as it’s expected that the GM will be active in his quest to improve the team during the draft period.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
